The United Federation of Teachers is suing over a decision it says illegally allowed the charter-school powerhouse Success Academy founded by Eva Moskowitz to give a charter to a new school led by her husband.
Last year, Success Academy applied to the State University of New York (SUNY) to transfer the license of one of its elementary schools in the Bronx to Strive Charter School. Moskowitz is married to the new school’s executive director, Eric Grannis.
SUNY, which has charter-granting authority, approved the transfer earlier this school year. The UFT and its state affiliate, the New York State United Teachers, asked a Manhattan-based state court on Monday to nullify SUNY’s actions, saying it side-stepped a statutory cap on the number of charter schools.
“Success Academy has to follow the law. Clearly, they are trying to go around the charter cap, but that’s not how this works,” UFT President Michael Mulgrew said in a statement. “Charter schools drain resources from district public schools, and the cap was created to minimize harm.”
PS 15 ROBERTO CLEMENTE SCHOOL
Luiz C. Ribeiro/for New York Daily News Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers union, speaks to the media after visit to P.S. 15 on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in 2020. (Luiz C. Ribeiro for New York Daily News)
The lawsuit is the latest flare-up between the city’s powerful teachers union and largest charter school network, and the first of Mayor Mamdani’s administration. Success Academy, which runs 59 schools across the boroughs, did not immediately return a request for comment.
“We are aware of the filing and look forward to the opportunity to review it and respond in court,” Kathryn Connell-Espinosa, executive director of the SUNY Charter Schools Institute, said in a statement.
Grannis said Strive Charter School has already received over 200 applications because of the program’s unique design — operating seven days a week, 12 months a year, with extended hours between 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. for families in need of child care. It’s set to open in the same Mott Haven building that was home to the Success Academy elementary school.
“It is cruel that the teachers union is trying to deprive families of the opportunity to benefit from this program with this last minute lawsuit,” Grannis said.
According to a summary submitted to SUNY, Strive said it would implement Success Academy’s academic program, while offering the extended school day and year model under a new name, and as a standalone education corporation with oversight of a distinct board.
Strive said it would recruit current college students pursuing teaching degrees, “allowing the school to offer their extended hours in a cost-effective manner,” read the document. Most charter school teachers are not unionized.
The statutory cap for charter schools statewide is 460, a subset of which are permitted to operate in the city. Charter advocates continue to push for state lawmakers to lift the cap, but the only legislative action in Albany in recent years has been a deal to reissue a handful of charters that were awarded but no longer operating known as “zombie charters.”
Those licenses have since been re-awarded through a competitive process that did not involve Strive Charter School.